Grounding of the Container ship Carola

Summary

The German flag container ship Carola sailed from Sydney on the afternoon of 25 March 1995, bound for Singapore by way of the inner route of the Great Barrier Reef.

At 0100 on 29 March, the vessel embarked a licensed pilot off Cairns for the passage through the inner route to Goods Island. The vessel made good a speed of marginally over 15 knots.

At about 0230 on 30 March, the Pilot left the bridge in an area where there was to be no alteration of course for about two hours and where other shipping and fishing boats presented no potential hazard. The Pilot gave clear directions to the Second Mate, the officer of the watch, that he was to be called at a position that he had marked on the chart, or if the mate had any concerns.

At a little after 0400, the Mate relieved the Second Mate, who passed on the instruction about calling the Pilot.

At 0458 on 30 March, Carola ran aground on South Ledge Reef.

The Master, who was asleep in his cabin, was woken by the change in the characteristic vibration of the ship. He went to the bridge where he found only the Mate and lookout. The Pilot was called from his cabin.

The damage was assessed, soundings of the ship's tanks were taken and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was informed. It was established that the fore peak tank was breached and some water was entering the bow thruster space. However, the ship's pumps were able to handle the ingress of water.

No injury was sustained to the Pilot or any crew member and no pollution resulted from the grounding.

The Carola refloated about six hours later at 1115 on the high tide and, after the Master established that it was safe to do so, the ship continued its passage to Goods Island. It anchored off Goods Island after 1530. In the evening of 30 March, a surveyor from the ship's classification society boarded the vessel and over the next three days the vessel was inspected by divers and repairs carried out, to allow it to continue the voyage to Singapore.

Carola resumed its voyage on 4 April.

Conclusions

These conclusions identify the different factors contributing to the accident and should not be read as apportioning liability or blame to any particular organisation or individual.

The grounding was not due to any mechanical failure on board Carola or any deficiency in the navigational aids marking the reef.

The grounding was the result of the Mate neither ensuring the Pilot was called to the bridge at the designated position, nor altering course in the Pilot's absence.

The Mate was overcome by drowsiness which caused him to loose track of time and space.

The Mate's condition was induced by both an intake of alcohol some four hours before going on watch and reduced sleep time. His condition was compounded by the ambience of the bridge and the avaliablity of a comfortable chair at the command position. The conditions on the bridge were not under the control of the Mate, however any intake of alcohol and duration of sleep were under his control.

The rest periods taken by the Pilot, under the prevailing conditions of weather and shipping traffic, were reasonable and in accordance with the practice of Reef Pilots.

The part bottle of beer consumed by the Pilot just before midnight on 29 March would not have impaired his performance or efficiency.